Local music venues are sounding the alarm.
Without federal aid to survive the continued shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the possibility of beloved live music havens shuttering in Georgia and around the country is becoming more of a reality.
Along with the National Independent Venue Association, a group of Georgia musicians and artists has mobilized to urge local senators to support the “Save Our Stages Act” and the “RESTART Act,” both currently before Congress.
“We join together for the first time out of necessity for the purpose of protecting the ecosystem that underpins Georgia’s arts and entertainment industries,” they wrote in a letter directed to U.S. senators from Georgia, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
The correspondence is signed by more than 75 members of the Georgia music industry, including R.E.M., Collective Soul, Yacht Rock Revue, Butch Walker, William Bell, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady A and Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers.
The letter points out that venues such as the Rylander Theater in Americus and the Holly Theatre Community Center in Dahlonega have experienced 80-100 percent revenue loss, while the Fox Theatre, which has been closed for more than five months, will likely remain closed “well into 2021.”
See more at the AJC.
